This folder contains correspondence and other documents relating to the business of the North American Phonograph Co. Included are letters about the technical development of the phonograph, the formation of local sales agencies, and the company's relations with the Edison Phonograph Works and the Edison United Phonograph Co. There are also minutes from meetings of the Board of Directors and items concerning the exhibition of phonographs at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Some of the letters deal with Vice President Alfred O. Tate's reorganization of the Chicago office and the discontinuation of the nickel-in-the-slot phonograph business. There is also material about the company's financial, legal, and patent affairs. Some of the documents may be partially illegible due to water damage and faded ink.

Approximately 80 percent of the documents have been selected. The following categories of documents have not been selected: routine bulletins and circulars; meeting announcements; letters of transmittal; routine letters concerning shipments and patent assignments; duplicate copies of selected items.